Officials find meth worth $60K in kids’ booster seats at border

Border Patrol agents on the US-Mexico border in California have arrested a man for allegedly trying to smuggle 30 pounds of methamphetamine worth $60,000 inside child booster seats.  

Agents pulled over a vehicle carrying a man, a woman and their four children Wednesday on Interstate 15 north of the Newton Azrak Border Patrol Station checkpoint in Murrieta, according to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

A CBP K-9 team that was called to the scene alerted the agents to the presence of drugs inside three booster seats that were in the car.

When the seats were cut open, according to the agency, officials discovered several packages containing a white crystal substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.

“The driver was found in possession of 26.9 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $60,000,” CBP said.

The suspect — described as a US citizen — and the contraband methamphetamine were then turned over to the Inland Crackdown Allied Taskforce for prosecution, while the vehicle was seized by Border Patrol.

The four children and their mother were set free.

“Our agents continue to work around the clock to protect our communities,” said Aaron Heitke, Chief Patrol Agent at the San Diego Sector, in a prepared statement. “Drug smugglers will use any means necessary to get their poison onto our streets. Nothing is sacred to them, not even family.”